Loving Mothers Around the World

Mothers and motherhood have been on my mind a lot lately, for a lot of reasons. Being in Korea definitely has a great deal to do with it. I have come to learn a lot in my time here about the unique challenges and pressures that Confucian ideals place upon the shoulders of women in Korea, especially with regards to family, marriage, and motherhood. On a personal level, the things that I have learned through my time and experiences here have really grown me in love and understanding for my own mother. I've been writing a lot about the life experiences of my mother and grandmother lately, and have spent quite a great deal of time reflecting on the amazing women that have always surrounded me in my family and my life. I feel incredibly grateful and blessed to have had them.

I've also recently been reading a lot about maternal health, maternal mortality, and orphaned children. These issues have really been driving me to my knees. Everything in my being wants to see mothers across the world LIVE, and succeed, and have the opportunity to nurture and care for their children. I deeply admire and wish to honor every woman who loves and sacrifices for her children, wherever and however and to whomever those children first entered the world. My heart rejoices to see mothers (and fathers) rise up and bring orphaned children into their families. I really hope I am blessed to be counted among their ranks one day.

There are other factors, too, at work in promoting my recent preoccupation with motherhood. Like my intention to travel to Haiti in August to work with women and children. And, of course, the fact that Mother's Day in the US is only two weeks away.

This year, I will be celebrating my mother from a distance, and so have been giving special consideration as to how best to show her how much I appreciate her, not only for giving me life, but also for investing in me and loving me unconditionally over the years. I've never been great at giving gifts-- I'd say the worst was probably when I accidentally broke my sister's arm and gave my mom an oh-so-glorious day in the emergency room for Mother's day-- but I'm sure that this year I'll be able to manage something at least a little better than that.

One way that I intend to expand my celebration of Mother's day this year-- and that I invite any who read this to consider-- is by investing in the life of a mother in the developing world who needs some help to provide for and support her family.

One way to do this is through microfinance and the organization that I mentioned in an earlier post, Kiva. In case you aren't familiar, Kiva connects lenders, like you and me, who have modest amounts of expendable income-- even $25-- to business owners in the developing world who need small loans to start-up, grow or expand their small businesses. The majority of small business owners represented on Kiva, I believe, are women; they constitute the group least likely to default on their loans and most likely to allocate resources responsibly. It has been suggested that this gender difference is largely attributable to the value women tend to place on the management, care, education and well-being of their families, and especially their children. In other words, making microloans to mothers is a solid investment, because it's returns are most likely to positively impact children, families and, by extension, whole communities.

For those more moved by maternal health concerns, there is also Compassion International's Child Survival Program. One issue that I have only recently learned about, but that has been weighing heavily on my heart, is that of fistula. An all too common condition plaguing women in the developing world, fistula is a hole in a woman's bladder or rectum that results from sexual assault or, often, obstructed labor. This is a condition that is majorly debilitating and that causes women to be ostracized from their communities. Tragically, MANY of these cases could easily be avoided or repaired simply by the presence of proper medical care during childbirth. The Child Survival Program strives to give women in the developing world access to this kind of care by providing pregnant mothers with skilled birth attendants, who can help ensure safe and healthy deliveries.

These are just a couple ideas to consider-- there are, of course, many other options out there. But I definitely think that programs like the ones mentioned above are powerful ways by which we can celebrate motherhood across the world, as well as demonstrate just how much we value the blood, sweat and tears that so many of our own mother's have so graciously invested in us.